US markets jumps as IMF raises economic forecast

18 Apr 2012 Evaluate

The US markets surged on Tuesday, pushing the Dow average to its first finish above 13,000 in more than a week, as increased appetite for Spanish debt calmed global concerns and tech stocks rebounded. Besides, the International Monetary Fund offered a more optimistic take on the global economy, stating the US economy should expand 2.1% this year. Europe will likely contract 0.3% and the world economy should expand 3.5%. The trio of estimates were a bit improved from the IMF’s January outlook. The US market offered little reaction to economic reports, which had home construction falling 5.8% and housing permits climbing 4.5% in March. US builders started work on new homes in March at a sharply slower pace, but the number of construction permits jumped to their highest level in three-and-a-half years in a positive signal for the slump-ridden industry. The Commerce Department reported that housing starts fell 5.8% to an annual rate of 654,000 last month. The data are seasonally adjusted. Housing starts in February were also revised down slightly, to 694,000 from 698,000. A separate report said industrial production remained unchanged for a second month in March, in what could be a sign of slowing momentum in the US economy.

In Europe, the sentiments were positive driven by the results of a Spanish debt auction and positive global economic signals. However the IMF warned that though the recovery in Euro-zone remains fragile, another acute crisis in Europe remains the main risk to the global economy. Besides, the German ZEW indicator of investor sentiment showed an unexpected increase in April, the fifth straight monthly gain. The indicator rose to 23.4 from 22.3 in March.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher by 194.13 points, or 1.50 percent, at 13,115.50. The S&P 500 gain 21.21 points, or 1.55 percent, at 1,390.78, while the Nasdaq was up by 54.42 points, or 1.82 percent, at 3,042.82.

Indian ADRs closed in green on Tuesday, HDFC Bank was up 1.70%, ICICI Bank was up 1.10%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab was up 0.51%, Tata Motors was up 0.46% and Wipro was up 0.15%.

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